Blog 10 Senior Project Update

(1) Currently I am doing the only thing I can do for my independent component and that is continuing my mentorship and coaching a team. I have been looking up courses I can take along with my mentorship to become safety certified and they are very expensive. The one I need is $110 and it it only 3 and a half hours long. I found another course that is 45 dollars and it is a certification through the National Federation of State High School Associations. It too is online and only requires a couple hours. I need some consulting, I'll set up a meeting with Pittman this week.

(2) (Sticks and Stones Will Break That Bone! - Activity - www.TeachEngineering.org) I found this project and it interested me quite a bit, I might add this to my science fair to test bones. I'll go to a butcher's shop and ask for some pig bones since their physiology is closest to a human's. I will apply pressure and test the bones to their breaking points and record the amount of force it took. This lesson as given me new ideas of how to use the force plate to get even more data. I am very excited to begin my procedures.

(3) This is my team, Starz Pink. I coach them nearly every Friday and Saturday for about 2-3 hours. This team has improved so much since they started and we got two boys! I'm very excited for the rest of the season and I already love every one of them. I have learned ways to connect with the team and communicate with them properly. Through my research I have become a better coach and I have actually helped some of them!

Senior Project Update.

MENTORSHIP
I have been looking into the way my coaches have been coaching and seeing the different ways to deal with athletes. I missed about three weeks of practice due to illness and various other things that took precedence. However, I was with the team before and on their first competition day November 17th. I was with the girls and two boys who are knew for the whole day. The competition lasted 8 hours. When it was time to warm up Anthony(teammate and fellow coach) took the team to go stretch and warm up before going on stage. The athletes were really nervous so we had numerous huddles with them to calm them down and pep them up. It was exciting to be a coach waiting for my team to go out there and leave everything on the mat. They got third place which the coaching staff knew would happen since we didn't push them to learn harder skills. After that day we decided they were ready for harder stunts and tougher handling.

INDEPENDENT COMPONENT

After talking with one of my mentors, I have found out that the number of hours required before you can apply for USASF certification is well over 250 and I won't be able to complete that during this year. I will continue my mentorship which will help me work towards it and do whatever I can to get closer to being certified like first aid certification and possibly going through other companies to get certified to coach a highschool team by chance.

SCIENCE FAIR

I am going to begin conducting my experiment soon to start retrieving data and begin writing out my lab report. I will receive the Vernier force plate and all requirements from Pittman this week.

Science Fair Proposal

1. All-Star Cheerleading

2. Most athletes do not demonstrate proper technique or strength, usually resulting in injury.
"Some days in tumbling, we do not even do the skill they are working on. For instance, a back handspring requires strength in plyometrics, core, shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes, and the athlete also must know how to engage her head, core, and power bases. I have seen many people spend thousands of dollars on a back handspring when all they needed to do was strengthen their body appropriately and the skill would have been easy.
Athletes must follow progressions from A to Z to learn well and completely. Plus, it will keep them injury-free and psychologically relaxed. Conditioning is extremely important, so do not neglect it."
Love, Debbie. "Help! I'm A Cheer Parent!" Fortheloveoftumbling.com. N.p., 4 July 2010. Web. <http://fortheloveoftumbling.com/2010/07/help-i%E2%80%99m-a-cheer-parent/#>.

3. My Hypothesis:
If a spring floor is used, a cheerleader falling from 10 ft would not break their bones, contrary to on other surfaces.

4. I plan on testing the critical heights of surfaces used by cheerleaders in order to find the potential of bone breakage that would occur at or above those critical heights. I plan to use the vernier force plate to measure the force exerted by the collision of a weight and the surface I'm testing. I will take into account the height at which the weight is dropped, the velocity of the object before it hits the surface, the work done on the object, and the impulse, deformity or energy lost in the resulting impact. The tools I will use will be a meter stick for height, scale for weight, equations to find work done and impulse.By finding this data I can compare it to data found in different studies that give numbers for the force required to break bone and critical heights of certain surfaces.

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:
Pharmacology
Physics

Blog 9

(1) What is the best way to prevent injury in an All-Star Cheerleading team?
(2) I am not going to revise my EQ at this time
(3) Possible answers are stretching, strengthening, proper technique, safe environment, and certified coaches with experience.

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

Rough Draft

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

(1) For my first independent component I plan on getting certified as a cheer-leading coach by either USASF or AACCA, this will allow me to be a coach different teams whether it be all-star or high school. The certification will show that I am capable of protecting my students and providing medical response for the athlete upon injury until the paramedics arrive(If needed).  If I cannot be certified by these organizations then I plan on getting First Aid and CPR certified through the Red Cross for the same reason.
(2) This feat will definitely meet the 30 hours if not more. It will require countless hours studying rules and different safety protocols as well as actually going to take a written test, getting different forms signed by my gym owner and taking a hands on test. I might not be able to receive the accreditation because the companies can only do it so often. The next USASF one that is close is October 28th and I won't be able to come up with the money. It is $15 per type per level. So for levels 1-4 in stunting, tumbling and tosses would be about $180. Not only will I be able to meet the time by preparing for the test, I will exceed it when I apply this certification into the team I coach.
(3) This plan relates to my EQ because it will help me understand injury and how to intervene if it does occur. Knowing the possible injuries that can occur will help me train the athletes to use a technique that reduces the chances of injury. If I am unable to get the USASF certification, when I do it will only improve my ability to teach.

Hopefully I will find a way to afford the process and find out the best way to do so. I will talk to my mentor about the best way to go about it, since he is certified and will be for 3 years.

Second Interview Questions

1) How long have you been involved in All-Star Cheerleading?

2) Describe your title and what that entails. 

3)What experiences can show that you have an expertise in this field?

4) Describe what an expert in All-Star Cheer is.

5) What brought you to Starlite Allstar?

6) How long have you been coaching?

7) What would make you the most proud of your team?

8) Describe the one thing you've done in your time as an athlete that you can't forget.

9) Do you believe this sport changes lives? How?

Working EQ

The Pentagon:
(1) Positive Statement: From what I have completed so far, I gained an understanding of coaching a team and how a team works. I learned so much from being on a team where world class athletes coach me and going out to coach the Starz. I would have never thought I knew some of the things I corrected when coaching. It helped me gain a deep respect and reverance for my coaches Jason and Brady, and it has inspired me to take on my own team one day.

(2) EQ Content:  Well from my research, I have read numerous articles on coaching, but also on the many aspects of cheer itself. One piece really stuck out and I didn't even get to finish it, was an injury study that went into depth about cheer leading from an analytical stance. It was inspiring and it solidified my interest in this subject as my topic. My Interview again was another boost in this decision as the interviewee gave me a brilliant story that was very personal and interesting, it had to do with cheer as a way of keeping kids out of trouble and doing something that would help them in life.

(3) I have found that almost everything I could try in the senior project concerning my topic would work out. I have tons of research at my disposal, a group of people I can interview, people to talk to, and teams to work with.  Interviews have worked, research has worked, and being able to talk to other people about the sport is always available. Ideas about science fair has worked wonderfully.

(4) The only thing that relatively hasn't worked is finding sufficient books about my topic and finding a place that I can actually go to to retrieve the books.

(5) Finding Value:  Based on your experience so far,
Some questions I could think of might be:

1. How do you get a cheer team to have the work ethic of champions?
2. How can you teach proper technique effectively?
3. What is the best way to prevent injury? 

I want to be able to walk away from this project knowing that I could go out and coach a team that would have good work ethic, have proper technique, and be able to prevent as much injury as possible. I basically want to walk away a better coach, and hopefully be on the same level as mine.

I would like to talk to one if not both of my coaches, Debbie Love(the authority in all-star cheer for tumbling and technique), or one of the many coaches for the stars of the cheer world (California Allstars, Top Gun, Cheer Athletics.. etc). They would be able to provide wonderful answers to all my questions and supply me with the best information.

SF Blog A: Problem Statement

1. Topic: All-Star Cheerleading
2. Problem: A lot of athletes do not demonstrate proper technique, usually leading to injury. When I solve this problem I will take on my own team and through my developed method, teach them proper technique; therefore reducing injury and improving the routine.
3. Problem: There is a lack of resources for high school teams.  When I solve this problem I will hopefully publish a paper, or be able to step in and show schools that they need to spend as much if not more money so that their cheerleading teams are safe and can perform to their full potential.

Blog 3: Interview Prep

1. 

I plan to interview the owner and head coach of the gym I cheer and coach at. Her name is Grace Contreras and she has been in the cheer industry for about 19+ years. I feel that she would be an excellent source of information to solidify my Senior topic with. She has seen everything and talked to everyone you would need to to make it in the cheer world. She is not only a coach and gym owner, but a judge for competitions. This is why she is an excellent source of information for me to use, not only in the first interview but throughout the year. She will be able to connect me to any other sources or people I may need.

2.

Aside from the 5 questions on the component contract, I have come up with questions to help direct me in choosing a concrete topic.  

1. What about All-Star Cheerleading inspired you to become a coach? Elaborate.

2. What is your favorite part of the season as a coach? Why?

3. As a coach, if there was one thing you could give the athletes throughout the season; what would it be? Why?

4. What, to you, is the most important thing a coach does for their students? Why?

5. What inspired you to start your own program? Elaborate?

6. What is the best advice you can give to someone coming into this industry? 

7. Is there anyone you can get me in contact with, who could help me with research or possibly interview?

8. Are there any resources you would recommend when it comes to research?

Allstar Cheerleading

A.

 My topic is Allstar Cheerleading, but more specifically it is getting your team to have the work ethic of champions. After a lot of thought and time, I figured it would provide me with a wide enough scope for research as well as interviews. I would like to use the team I am currently on as an example, because of how far we have come in the past 2 seasons. Ever since our current coaches started we have become one of the greatest teams in our area. I truly believe that the team has developed a champion's work ethic is due to the coaches influence. I believe understanding how this happens, will make not only my work ethic, but the work ethic of any teams I coach in the future.

B.

iPoly Citizen:  I plan to understand the way the coaches expect constant attendance, as well as the athletes being on time as there is always a constant deadline approaching for when certain skills need to be achieved. I plan to show how the coaches require everyone to be respectful to one another and maintain a team environment to ensure success. Learning these things will improve the way I interact with people at iPoly and make sure I maintain attendance as well as adherence to deadlines. Which will make me a better iPoly citizen.

Effective Communicator:  I plan to observe the way the coaches speak to the athletes, taking into account their diction as well as the changes in tone. I will strive to understand the way they listen to the athletes to better understand the issues presented. I will examine the way the coaches inspire the team to work interdependently at every aspect of the routine to present an astonishing product. This will make me more effective as a learner because it will allow me to apply these things in my own actions and severely improve the way I handle things, rely on people, and speak to them.

Effective Learner:  I plan to observe the way the athletes take it upon themselves to learn the things they need to without being instructed, and I will pay attention to how the coaches encourage that. I will also watch the coaches as they express their creativity when teaching choreography to the athletes and asking us what should be in the routine. This will make me a better learner because it will instill in me the will to learn the things I don't already know and ask for help when it is needed. It will also help me release the creativity within myself which will allow me to present products I am proud of.

Effective User of Technology: I plan to observe the coaches' and athletes' use of technology to study their sport and learn new skills. I will use technology to present the skills I can't show and techniques which will help me coach. I will find ways of coaching, or teaching athletes vital skills using technology that will open their eyes in a new way. This will make me a better learner because I will be able to show new ways of learning and coaching using technology.

Blog 1: Mentorship Experience

  Literal (Know)

·    Mentorship Log
·     Starlite Allstar Cheer and Dance Company - (626) 333-1145
      Grace Contreras (Owner) - (626) 333-8788

   Literal (Need to know)   

• What is the best way to deal with children 13 and under.
• How can one effectively get across a lesson without losing the attention of the pupil?
• What is the best way to gain the respect of your students?
• What are the key components to creating a successful cheer-leading routine?
• What is the best way to get a student to achieve the skills they want?
• Is there a better way to get through to those pupils who just can't grasp the lessons? 

   Interpretive

    This experience has only been the beginning to my coaching career. I'm sure that I will be helping out around starlite for many years to come, and maybe even take a team of my own one day. I have learned that  there is a certain way to talk to the younger girls, which consists of rewards as well as not being too lenient. The little ones seem to take in all the things we say when we reward them with water breaks. The older girls demand a more authoritative tone of voice. The trick to getting them to take in the lessons is playing around with them a little and making them enjoy what they're doing. It also doesn't hurt you to be the object of a crush. They seem to pay attention to you when you are smooth and authoritative. Being coached by two tough coaches has shown me that amazing things happen when you constantly push your pupils, when they know you support them, and don't let up; they respect you. This has been a wonderful learning experience and has only furthered my love and passion for this sport. I can't wait to see it get the recognition it deserves.

   Applied

     Well what I did is coach an up and coming Allstar Cheerleading team, which has been what I thought would be a good senior topic since sophomore year when I joined a team. The sport is so fascinating, passion driven and incredibly difficult. It hardly receives any recognition for what a rigorous workout it is, and I believe it should be exposed to the world as more then just the stereotyped, stuck up, slutty, skinny, and slightly stupid high school girls.  I think that having cheer as my topic would open a world of possibilities for components, experiments and papers. I believe that it is a very suitable topic as I will have access to many people to interview and tons of information. Coaching a cheer-leading team would even be a good route to go.